The Golden State Warriors’ — remember them? — myriad injuries this season may have been the central mechanism for the D-League’s incredible success in ’09-’10, but they also denied us the privilege of watching a few interesting players do their thing. Kelenna Azubuike is one of those guys.

‘Buike may not be incredibly dynamic, tremendously talented, or loaded with potential, but he’s a terrific open-court player and he probably would have been useful on those nights where Golden State suited up six or seven players. Kelenna went down in the ninth game of the season (on the night of Brandon Jennings’ double-nickel against the Warriors, coincidentally), and never returned for the Dubs.

Kelenna already had one season-ending surgery in November to repair his torn patella tendon, and he underwent another arthroscopic procedure late this week to address his lingering patella tendinitis. Though Azubuike may be limited in the off-season, the injury shouldn’t last through the summer. The Warriors may actually be able to field a full team of players next season with guys like ‘Buike on the mend, which should translate to guys like Monta Ellis and Steph Curry playing less than 48 minutes a night.